Hurricane Michael ripped through the Florida panhandle this week, walloping Panama City with 155-mile per hour winds and devastating rains. Pictures out of Panama City and other parts of the state showed the decimation wrought by the storm, which downed trees, destroyed homes and left debris in its wake.

“It’s hard to convey in words the scale of the catastrophe in Panama City,” storm chaser Josh Morgerman tweeted. “The whole city looks like a nuke was dropped on it. I’m literally shocked at the scale of the destruction.”

The hurricane made landfall on Wednesday in Mexico Beach, some 25 miles from Panama City. The National Weather Service confirmed it was “unprecedented” in the area, as a Category 4 storm had never hit that part of Florida before. The storm was also the strongest to hit the continental United States since 1992, when Hurricane Andrew swept through, CNN reported.

At least two people were killed by the hurricane so far. One man died in Greensboro, Florida, after a tree fell on his home, while an 11-year-old girl in Seminole County, Georgia, was also killed.

More than 900,000 homes were without power in Florida, Alabama, the Carolinas and Georgia, the Weather Channel reported. FEMA administrator Brock Long said power wasn’t expected to come back on “for a while.”

"I've been here all my life and I've never seen the water hit the end of the pier the way that it's doing," said Panama City Beach Mayor Mike Thomas, according to MSNBC.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said search and rescue teams were moving into Panama City, Mexico Beach, Tyndall, Alligator Point and Carrabelle on Thursday. First responders were working to get food and supplies to those in need.

"This morning, Florida's Gulf Coast and Panhandle and the Big Bend are waking up to unimaginable destruction," Scott said."So many lives have been changed forever. So many families have lost everything. This hurricane was an absolute monster."

Michael weakened into a tropical storm by Thursday, moving northeast through the Carolinas. The storm had maximum winds of up to 50 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

Kathy Coy stands among what is left of her home after Hurricane Michael destroyed it on October 11 in Panama City, Florida. She said she was in the home when it was blown apart and is thankful to be alive. The hurricane hit the Florida Panhandle as a category 4 storm. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

People walk past an apartment destroyed by Hurricane Michael on October 11 in Panama City, Florida.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Debris is strewn next to a mobile home destroyed by Hurricane Michael on October 11 in Panama City, Florida Joe Raedle/Getty Images

People walk past a home destroyed by Hurricane Michael on October 11 in Panama City, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A view of storm damage during Hurricane Michael on October 10 in Panama City, Florida. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Rick Teska (L) helps a business owner rescue his dogs from the damaged business after Hurricane Michael passed through the area on October 10 in Panama City, Florida. The hurricane hit the Florida Panhandle as a category 4 storm.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A tree lays on a home and car after Hurricane Michael passed through the area on October 10 in Panama City, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Storm damage is seen after Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Florida on October 10. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Storm damage is seen after Hurricane Michael in Panama City, Florida, on October 10. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

"The ice doesn’t care what this administration thinks. It’s just going to keep melting," David Titley, the director of the Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk at Penn State, told Newsweek.